“Now!” I exclaim.

Claire throws open the car door. I follow as she sprints past the cars parked in the driveway and bounds through the Sheriff Vernon’s front door.

“Hands above your head!” she yells with her gun raised.

When I step through the front door, Claire is already across the room and reaching for one of the sheriff’s thick arms. She tugs it out of the air and twists it furiously behind his back before doing the same with the other. He mutters something, but it’s masked by the clink of the handcuffs around his wrists.

Claire turns to Noah. “Did you touch him?” she asks.

“Not once.”

“The fuck is this?” Sheriff Vernon roars. Although, he won’t be sheriff much longer.

“Noah, this is Officer Claire Brooks,” I say, approaching them both. “Claire, this is Noah.” I stop when I’m in front of Sheriff Vernon and staring directly into his eyes. “Sheriff, you obviously don’t need an introduction.”

His face is overcome with disbelief. He’s wearing old pajama pants and a ratty t-shirt that’s too small to cover his stomach. He looks just as horrific as the person he is.

“I cannot believe this. You’re a piece of scum,” Claire hisses, tugging the sheriff’s handcuffs hard enough to make him wince. “Is he drunk?”

I look at Noah, who shakes his head with a proud smile.

“Nope,” he says. His eyes shift to Sheriff Vernon. “It’s a shame you passed on that bourbon, huh?”

“Wow, not even intoxicated,” I say. “What a perfect confession.”

“This is a nice place you have,” Claire remarks. “Except for this, was that your doing?” she asks Sheriff Vernon, bobbing her head at dark liquid spilled on the bar.

Noah laughs.

“Gross. Let’s go, let’s get the hell out of here,” she orders, yanking Sheriff Vernon across the living room.

“This is wrong!” he shouts. “He’s a killer! He was gon’ hit—”

“Shut up,” Claire hollers. She looks at me. “I’m going to get him outside and radio backup.”

I nod and turn to Noah, whose bright green eyes are beaming at me. A smile fills my face.

For a long moment we do nothing but stare at each other. His soft skin looks no different from the night I met him. No sign of the torment he’s been through. His hair is messier than usual, but his smile is as gentle as always.

“It’s good to see you,” I whisper.

Without a word, Noah lifts me up. He catches me in his arms and plants a fervent kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and clench a fistful of his hair, feeling security in the warmth of his chest.

After a minute, Noah slowly pulls away. “How’s Savannah?” he murmurs.

“Safe.”

He kisses me gently again before letting me down. Our hands come together.

“She’s a strong woman,” I say, looking up at him. “I could’ve never done this without her.”

He nods. “She was a good messenger.”

“She was more than that. She didn’t have to let me into her house, and she definitely didn’t have to tell me everything she did.”

He nods again, sincerity glistening in his eyes.

“And even after I told her the truth about Kris, she never backed down,” I say. “Not once. I came back with Claire, and Savannah did everything we asked. I don’t know how else we could’ve got you the wire.”

“You’re right, she’s a strong woman. But so are you, Soph.” He squeezes my hands. “Don’t forget that.”

“Thank you.” I squeeze back.

Noah’s smile grows on his face. He slowly shakes his head.

“I love you,” he whispers. His voice is soft, but it’s full of more happiness, care, and passion that I’ve ever known. The kind I’ll never find in someone else. That’s something I’m sure of.

My smile pushes into my cheeks. “I love you too, Noah.”

He pinches my chin in his fingers, kissing me until Claire calls to us from outside and we slowly come apart.

“Shall we?” he asks. And when I nod, Noah leads me through the living room and out the door.

“Oh, thank God. I was starting to worry there was more of him in there,” Claire says as we emerge.

“That man is in a class of his own,” I say, peering through the windshield into the back seat of Claire’s cruiser. I can’t quite glimpse the sheriff’s face, but there’s not one part of me that minds.

Noah drops my hand. “Hey, listen, I need to thank you,” he says to Claire. “If you hadn’t been willing to see the truth, I don’t know if there’s anything we could’ve done.”

“I appreciate that, but I only wanted to do what’s right,” she says. “Sophia is the one that really had your back.”

Noah turns to me. He extends his hand again, but when I reach for it he wraps his arm around my shoulders instead, pulling me close.

“I guess I owe you one, huh?” he says in my ear. As I laugh, I’m joined by the sound of approaching sirens. Finally.

“They’re coming,” Noah murmurs.

I nod up at him.

We’ve put an end to the sheriff’s reign of corruption, but this is far from over. His recorded confession is the first step of many, but it’s a step in the right direction. A step towards true justice.

“Where is this going to leave you?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“In the department. I’m no expert, but I assume that if the man that suspended you is a corrupted piece of fucking evil, that suspension probably doesn’t have a lot of standing. Am I right?”

The enthusiasm in my laugh surprises even me. “Probably something along those lines.”

“And I know it’s down the road, but eventually someone’s going to need to fill the sheriff’s seat now that Cliff’s gone.”

“Yeah, thank God.”

Noah bobs his eyebrows. “Well? When do I start campaigning for Sheriff Sophia Bell?” I barely have enough time to shoot him a look of sarcasm before he kisses me.